Hinged floating current-motor.



J. H. PEPPER.

HINGED FLOATING CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION 1 11.111) r1113. 17, 1910.

1,005,746. 7 Patented 0011111911.

2 SHEETS -SHEBT 1- Wiinsses lnvenior' W WM JHMES hf PPPH i ior'n ey I (Qua {M a M J. H. PEPPER. "111N021: FLOATING GUBRENT MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 1 910.

1,005,746. Patented 0ct.10,191i.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNE88E8: INVENTOR M We? Jsm s f/PEPPEH M/f WMM' BY M ATTOHNE Y TTNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. PEPPER, 0F WASCO, OREGON.

HINGED FLOATING CURRENT-MOTOR.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, JAMES H. PEPPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at l/Vasco, in the county of Sherman and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and,

useful Improvements in Hinged Floating Current-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hydraulic motors, but is designated especially for use in the West where rapidly flowing streams are tributary to land that must be irrigated to become fertile, but the near vicinity of snow covered hills causes freshets which have a tendency to carry out dams, thus necessitating some means of harnessing the power Without obstructing the flow, and I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the mechanism in place on the bank of the stream, being supported in position by trussed frame projecting from the bank and suspending the motor in the current; the motor is held from submerging itself into the stream by being made air tight, thus creating a buoyancy within itself; Fig. 2 is a detail of the truss, of the shaft mounted thereon into which the power is applied and the method of supporting the motor to the truss and illustrating the adjustable takeup which is necessitated by the rise and fall of the stream; Fig. 3 is a detail View showing the method of attaching the motor to the shaft by the support which makes it possible for the motor to operate during the rise and fall of the stream; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the paddle wheel; Fig. 5 is also a detail view of the paddle wheel; Fig. 6 illustrates a method of attaching the various blades composing the wheel to make a rigid, tight structure; Fig. 7 is a detail of plates that are placed within the wheel and so arranged that should leaks occur, the water will be conducted to the exterior as the wheel revolves; Fig. 8 clearly illustrates the construction of the bands that surround the outer wheel and the inner drum and to which the various blades composing the wheel are attached; Fig. 9 is an end view of the motor in position and illustrates a method of raising and lowering the wheel into the stream, or out of the stream should it become necessary on account of floating ice or other causes.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 17, 1910.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Serial No. 544,358.

1 is the projected portion of the trussed frame and which may be made of any of the approved methods.

2 is a tension member extending from the outer end over an upright post laterally braced and secured to some stable object on the bank.

3 is the shaft to which the power is applied from the motor by means of sprocket chains, cables or belts, designated by 4: and 5.

5 in Fig. 2 is the sprocket or wheel, or pulley directly to which the power is transmitted.

6 and 7 are hinged supports connecting the stub axles or shafts of the motor to the main drive shaft, thus maintaining the definite distance between the axial center of the wheel and the shaft to which the power is applied.

8 are the stub axles of the motor wheel.

9 are a series of bands around the outer diameter of the motor wheel having lugs on their inner side to which the blades 10 of the wheel may be attached, thus holding them in proper alinement one with the other.

10 and 10 are suggested as a method for 12 is a cable, or other suitable tension member which may be attached to the outer end of the supporting members connecting the motor wheel with the shaft and passing around a drum 18 having attached thereto a handle 13. Should it be desired to raise the motor wheel from the stream, drum 13 would be rotated by handle 13 and pawl 14: would operate, thus holding the wheel in any desired position. For various reasons it is obvious that the wheel would leak and to overcome this, shedding plates 15 would be placed on the inner side and on opposite sides of the wheel having turned edges 16, thereby conducting the water to the outer or exterior side by means of a hole made in the head of the wheel.

It will be observed that the lugs 11 form a bearing for the inner edges of the plates and are retained thereon by the lugs 9 carried by the bands 9. The member 15, which is provided with the trough or channel 16, is peculiarly mounted in the drum, as illustrated in Fig. 5, so that any leakage entering the drum is carried oil from the longitudinal center of the drum, to the exterior, at a point which is not submerged when the present invention is in an operative position.

Having thus fully described my invention wish to make the following claims there- 1. In a hydraulic motor, the combination with a drum, of a plurality of segments secured together and longitudinally arranged thereon, bands passing around said .drum and having projections therefrom, and a series of bands passing around the outer perimeter of the drum having projections on the inner sides thereof.

2. In a hydraulic motor, a floating wheel,

comprising a drum, a plurality of radially projecting blades mounted on said drum, a plurality of outwardly extending lugs pro vided on the latter adapted to form a bearing for said blades, and a plurality of bands encircling said blades provided with in-. wardly projecting lugs adapted to bear against the outer edges of the latter and retain said blades against said outwardly extending lugs, as set forth.

Having thus described my invention and in testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I hereunto attach my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

J AMES H. PEPPER.

WVitnesses ARTHUR B. SMITH, EARL A. MARsHALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained forfive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

